Blue Growth: Conceptualizing Sustainable Development of Marine Environments

International governance of natural resource use is increasingly based around a concept called “blue growth.” Despite use by multiple and diverse stakeholders, the term has no widely agreed on definition. Instead, it embodies vastly different meanings and approaches depending on the social contexts in which it is used. The potential for miscommunication is great, as stakeholders may be using the same term but unknowingly perceiving the concept differently, leading to potential misunderstandings and poor governance outcomes. This session brings together speakers to focus on better understanding the definition, dynamics, and mechanisms of blue growth. Blue growth has not been discussed and analyzed in a comprehensive fashion in any journals or reports. This session provides a novel, comprehensive synthesis to help scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders better understand this timely concept and avoid the pitfalls associated with multiple definitions and potential miscommunication.